Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday withdrew a motion proposing a pension for legislators after the opposition criticized the motion as self-serving.
The legislature's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on Thursday approved a motion filed by KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) that demanded government agencies present a bill to create a pension for lawmakers within a month, with the government and lawmakers sharing the cost.
During the committee meeting yesterday, members did not object when the chairwoman, KMT Legislator Pan Wei-kang (潘維剛), solicited their consent to defer the proposal while she was confirming the minutes of the previous committee meeting.
While Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers were absent and couldn't voice an opinion, an assistant to the DPP caucus present at the meeting questioned the propriety of the procedure.
Citing Chapter 7 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Yuan (立法院議事規則), the assistant said the person requesting the motion be overturned must be present when it is filed and be in favor of the motion, adding that to overturn a motion, the proposal must be filed during the confirmation of the minutes of the previous committee meeting. The proposal must also be debated before a decision can be made.
Meanwhile, the same committee yesterday approved legal revisions to two examination codes, establishing a fund for national examinations and allowing any funds left over to be carried forward to next year's budget without them having to be returned to the treasury.
The committee agreed to revise the Civil Servant's Examination Act (公務人員考試法) and the Act Governing the Examination of Special Professions and Techniques (專門職業及技術人員考試法) to establish the fund.
Minister of Examinations Kirby Yang (楊朝祥) told the committee that the resolution would improve the effectiveness of funding examinations.
Yang also proposed waiving the registration fees for civil servants' national examinations, saying the government should pay all or part of the expenses.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
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A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it